Friday, May 02, 2008
Time to play.
I think an all-movie edition once again. So in the comments, if you please.
1) Favourite Audrey Hepburn film and why.
2) Favourite Cary Grant film and why.
3) And just to change things up, favourite James Bond film ... and why.
Me first.
1) I’m going to cheat on the very first question and say that there’s too many to count — I love Audrey Hepburn. She was absolutely luminous onscreen and so perfectly cast in most of her films that I wouldn’t even try to pick amongst Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Sabrina (with Bogie), Roman Holiday (with the inimitable Gregory Peck), Charade (one of my favourite Cary Grant films), and Wait Until Dark.
2) Arsenic and Old Lace. No question. Grant is beyond perfect in a film that is virtually flawless — entertaining cast, outstandingly witty dialogue and excellent direction from Capra. Some of my other favourites include Bringing Up Baby, North by Northwest, An Affair to Remember, and, as already mentioned, Charade.
3) Hmmmmm. That’s a definite toss-up between Goldfinger and the new Casino Royale. Sean Connery was the quintessential Bond — suave, debonair and oh-so-sexy — and that particular film had all the just-right Bond elements. Including one of the coolest hitmen ever in OddJob and some of Bond’s best dialogue ... "Do you expect me to talk? No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!".
Casino Royale with Daniel Craig was so much better than I expected it to be. I found the last few Bond films with Pierce Brosnan to be very formulaic and I’ve been a fan of Craig’s since I saw him in The Ice House which is based on Minette Walters’ excellent novel. Needless to say, I was interested to see what he would do with Bond ... and he did a hell of a lot. His Bond seems so very shallow as the movie begins but reveals untold and unexpected depths as the plot progresses. And the parkour chase scene totally kicked ass.
Your turn.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
1) Wait Until Dark I saw it years ago and I was so taken by her vulnerability that I could barely watch. I can't build up much empathy for the dimwits in horror movies, don't go in there... you're going in there anyway. Well, it's your funeral dimwit. But those bastards terrorizing the blind woman just got to me.
2) Damn. Um, North by Northwest just a great film from the mighty Hitch. So many memorable scenes, the crop duster, Mt. Rushmore, the U.N. Grant is perfect as someone who is smart enough to survive his unknown enemies. The ultimate pursuit film.
3) Dr No The first of the Bond films and Ursula Andress as the first Bond girl! She did, um, things to a generation of young fellas, bless her bikini clad soul. Nice to see such a young Connery in the template piece for what has become a very tired institution. I went to see the last Bond film and while it was nice to see a Bond character that wasn't a poofter, the movie sucked bollocks. Bond playing Texas Hold 'em? Go fuck off. Dr. No was the cold war bomb... so to speak.
So I guess we're not watching Bond films when you come visit ;-)
1. My Fair Lady - a classic.
2. North By Northwest - great Hitchcock fare, and as a film set the stage for a whole genre of "chase" intrigue movies. Good stuff.
3. I'll be on my own with this one: Live and Let Die. Roger Moore's first (I always preferred his more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character), and a concerted attempt to break away from the staid fedora and black suit spy of Connery. Set in Harlem, with the outrageous costumery of the era, and a delicious smorgasbord of politically incorrect stereotypes (Sheriff J.W. Pepper, Louisiana State Po-leece...LOL!).
1) Ummm... qualitative matters are usually a question of personal taste but I've always considered Audrey Hepburn one of the flat-out most beautiful women to ever walk the Earth. I'm going to go with Sabrina. Holly Golightly might be iconic, but this one also has Bogie. A 'chick flick' I can actually sit and watch.
2) I can't choose between North By Northwest, which is my co-favourite Hitchcock movie, and Arsenic and Old Lace. Both near perfect films. The former has, as PSA mentioned, those iconic scenes.
The latter still cracks me up after 20+ viewings. Just say 'Ddgging a new lock for the Panama Canal' or 'He said I looked like Boris Karloff' or 'I'm the son of a sea-cook' and I crack up.
3) Dr. No - Andress may not be my top Bond Girl (hello! Maud Adams as Octopussy or Lana Wood as Plenty O'Toole), but that scene of her coming out of the water? PSA is correct, and it's probably a guy thing, but.. yeah, 'she did, um, things to a generation of young fellas'. IIRC, that scene was also voted one of the sexiest, ever, in the movies.
LuLu bella, I'll watch Bond with you! Even if it is a giant watch commercial and even if they do commit the sacrilege of replacing baccarat with hold 'em. I've learned to mutter under my breath. The important thing will be the company, the rest, mere detail.
Aren't you the sweetest thing?
And it truly was sacrilege for them to play Texas Hold 'Em {{shudder}} instead of baccarat ... but I do love Daniel Craig.
1) my fair lady. i dig shaw, and i dig musicals.
2) gunga din. "archibald cutter", indeed!
okay, arsenic and old lace is actually my favorite, but the frinkster already bagged that one. but din is a goodie.
3) diamonds are forever. dreadfully convoluted storyline, but it was still wildy fun and wierd.
KEvron
Daniel Craig. Oh man. I think I need to be alone.
1. Love in the afternoon. I loved all Audrey's films, but this one has a special place, and it is probably unknown today. Of course, it also starred an aging Gary Cooper, who I also liked, and toss in Maurice Chevalier....A good one.
2. I loved Arsenic and Old lace and he was supurb in North by Northwest, but The Philadephia Story is by far my favourite. Probably because the sparks between him and Kate Hepburn were ...just so.
3. I was never a James Bond fan, however, the 1967 version of Casino royale, with Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, David Niven and Urusula Andress really tickled my funny bone.
Kev - Diamonds did have the two most memorable killers in the Bond Series - Mssrs Kidd and Wynnt.
1) Roman Holiday. No, wait...Breakfast At Tiffany's. No, no, no...My Fair Lady. Or maybe Wait Until Dark? The Nun's Story? Robin and Marian?
Too tough to pick only one.
2) Father Goose. Mo, wait...Charade. No, no, no...To Catch A Thief. Or maybe I Was A Male War Bride? Operation Petticoat? The Philadelphia Story?
*sigh* Here we go again...
3) Ah, this one's easier. I'm not a Bond fan. I much preferrred the spoofs, Flint and Matt Helm.
1) No faves here because she’s always the same evanescent sprite; which is all good.
2) "The Bishop's Wife" because... well, too many reasons to enumerate. As the angel "Dudley" he's just so quitessentially charming and, moreover, supernatural — quite literally. The scene of him skating with Loretta Young is priceless.
3) Never a big fan of Bond movies although I enjoyed the books, so I'd have to pick the orignal "Casino Royale" because it's just so quirky and plain silly.
1. Wait Until Dark. Chiefly because of Alan Arkin.
2. North By Northwest. That airplane scene has become indelibly stamped on pop culture, and it deserves a nod if only for that.
3. You have no idea how complicated this is. I actually liked Timothy Dalton as Bond. He was surly and bitter, much like the Bond of the novels. I also like George Lazenby, if only because he knew what he was up against by taking the role from Connery, and played it accordingly. Craig was very good, and I liked the return to a more physical style, as opposed to the technogeek Bond had become. I'm going to have to go with "The Living Daylights", because it has the best theme song (by A-Ha), and has the delicious irony of having Bond team up with the muhajideen to defeat the Soviets. I like movies from the 80s that put the guys who became the Taliban in the role of hero. They make me smile, and then weep. It also has Bond going off on his own on a hunch, being forsaken by his superiors, and then saving everyone's ass. As for my favourite Bond girl? Dr. Goodhead, from Moonraker. Best name, and spectacularly gorgeous.
Moonraker! Holly Goodhead? Uh-huh. Yep, Lois Chiles. I recall the last scene now.
Post a Comment